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Monday, March 15, 2010

St. Paddy's Week Pre-Gaming with The Dead.

Well my Irish Ass is a'smiling this week with Paddy's day on the horizon. I will try to grab some pic's of the parade and maybe some video of marching and celebration...minus the underage drinking and puking of course.

Well this is a oddball show, and the leprechauns were certainly acting up for the opening "Hell in a Bucket", motorcycle ride it out as it gets straight up bizarre with sound effects and wildness at the end. Like the majority of 88, I think Bobby really shines here, his tunes are just more energetic and vibrant. "Minglewood" and the Dead's first ever cover of "Stuck Inside of A Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again" are booming; sure he blows some lyrics, but his whacky personality and energy are on full display. The whole night the sound-effect Leprechauns continue to pop up here and there backing-up Weir who is turned up to 11.

Something was clearly going on that night for the fellas on stage at the Kaiser (was that a giggle to start out "Row Jimmy" Jerry?!?! A touch tipsy?!?!), and this isn't the cleanest of sets, but who cares?? St. Paddy's is supposed to be a bit sloppy. I can deal with the sloppiness, I don't need note perfection but the recording while super loud, seems to have the cymbals way too up front, giving this show a bit of a tinny vibe, that kills the ballads (thankfully there aren't many) and the sliced "Let It Grow" cuts things off before they even start. Those are the obvious minuses here, but there are some pluses too.

After an update "China>Rider" to start things off in the second set (especially this "Rider" with warbling guitars) the fellas pump out another excellent Bobby tune with "Estimated Prophet" that drips effortlessly into a fairly quick "Eyes of the World". The Drums>Space section here is also really worth your time, as Hamza el-Din joins the fellas and helps move things along.

...I am sure St. Patty's day drunks used it as a smoke/piss break, but it is worth a listen, especially when the crowd tries to move things into the "Not Fade Away" realm, the boys don't bite, but they do put a move on things colliding into "Space"...freaky man!

Surprisingly "Going Down the Road" motors out of that chaos and the vibe gears right back up with the fellas clearly enjoying themselves. "I Need A Miracle" seems a bit out of place, but hell it's a party, and Bobby was clearly feeling it. Jerry rips the shit out of the cover combo"Mr. Fantasy">"Hey Jude" pairing letting Bobby and Brent take the screaming/wailing duties before the excellent "Black Muddy River" encore ends the night.

Whoa nelly, paddy's day is close...just found some old pics from '05...enjoy.